Sorghastrum nutans · Native perennial grass · Poaceae
Golden flower heads rise above the prairie in late summer. Look closely and the tiny yellow anthers, silky hairs and slender awns become a miniature landscape of their own.
Other common names: Indiangrass, Indian Grass, Indian Reed
Growth: Warm-season perennial
Typical height: About 3–8 feet, depending on conditions
Flowering: Late summer into early autumn
Habitat: Prairies, open savannas, sunny roadsides and restored grasslands
Status: Native to North America
The flower head: a narrow, branching plume that turns golden to bronze. Fine hairs and long awns give the spikelets a soft-looking texture; yellow anthers dangle during flowering.
The foliage: long, flat leaves, often blue-green. At the leaf collar, look for stiff hornlike projections and a notched membranous ligule. A close photograph of this junction is especially useful before flowering.
Use several features together. A golden grassland or a stem alone is not enough to identify every plant.
Yellow Indiangrass: a plume-shaped, branching flower head with golden spikelets.
Big Bluestem: several fingerlike branches clustered near the stem tip.
Little Bluestem: smaller, narrow flowering units on short branches along the stems.
These grasses can grow together. Identify a particular head and trace it to its plant rather than assuming the entire stand is one species.
Eight views show flowers, mature heads, whole plants and surrounding habitat. Select a photo to enlarge it and browse the gallery.
Thirteen additional photographs show flowering details, seasonal color, plant structure and prairie settings, including the stem-and-leaf view and its accompanying flower head.
Indiangrass is one of the characteristic tallgrass prairie plants and often grows alongside bluestems and switchgrass. Much of its growth happens during warm weather. Its fibrous roots and short rhizomes anchor it in the soil.
The leaves feed grasshoppers and other plant-eating insects, which in turn become food for birds. Standing grasses provide cover and nesting structure. Like many grasses, Indiangrass is wind-pollinated.
Native across much of the central and eastern United States, with its range extending west into parts of the interior West. It is native in Illinois and Wisconsin and is widely used in prairie restorations.
The observation map shows reported sightings, not a complete native-range boundary. Locations are not assigned to these photographs unless they are documented.
Photographs: Brian / Where’s Wildlife. Identification and habitat references: Illinois Extension, Illinois Wildflowers and the USDA NRCS plant guide.